Features

There is one relationship that Cupid may need to work hard at this month. Toby Craig and Charles Hale examine the Scottish referendum issue

Cracks in the Union

It’s that time of year again when love is traditionally in the air. Cupid will doubtless be busying himself sharpening the tips of his arrows in anticipation of a busy Valentine’s season. 

January 10, 2012: “I love everything that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines.” - Mr Hardcastle in Oliver Goldsmith’s  She Stoops to Conquer.

Anger that the Government is kicking the public Bar when it is already down; and the New Year doesn’t feel happy for long

Regulatory practitioners and those who favour complementary health therapy should be aware of changes in the practice of herbal medicine, writes Melissa Coutinho. 

There cannot be many of us who, despite spam filters, have not been exhorted on a regular basis to purchase a medicinal product that has promised to change our lives. Depending upon whether one wants to improve one’s performance professionally, physically or socially, there appears to be a product marketed directly for such a purpose. 

Do we need protection from data protection? asks David Taylor as he warns barristers of their duties under the Data Protection Act 1988 . 

Barristers and their chambers can no longer be complacent about their duties under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), and fines of up to £500,000 are now within the power of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Worse still: if you fight your corner in court, then unlimited fines and up to five years in prison are added to the armoury. If that weren’t incentive enough to keep your data safe, many breaches of the act are also criminal offences of strict liability. 

What will 2012 hold both here and over the pond?  Toby Craig and Charles Hale look ahead.  

First and foremost, we would like to wish a very happy New Year to all of WW’s readers. Now that the turkey has been digested, and the crackers pulled, we can focus on the year ahead and the job in hand. 

Child trafficking continues. Felicity Gerry reviews “Not My Life”, a film exposing this brutal world and hoping to bring about change. 

Not My Life is a brutal documentary about modern day slavery. It exposes the reality of human trafficking across continents, asks why such activities take place and what can be done. The international premiere took place at Curzon Mayfair on Thursday 20th October 2011 and the full documentary was shown on CNN International without ad breaks over the following weekend. Oscar-nominated director Robert Bilheimer hopes that the film can be a catalyst for change, putting the plight of the world’s youth in the forefront of the public consciousness. 

X is physically disabled. He had spent time campaigning for disabled rights. Last year, a jury convicted him of having seriously sexually assaulted others in the community far more profoundly disabled than himself. Elizabeth Smaller considers the issues raised by the trial
  

The witnesses and their disabilities 

The case of X involved three witnesses who fitted every criteria of vulnerable. All suffered with cerebral palsy, a condition which affects motor development and amongst other things creates severe difficulties of speech making giving evidence in the conventional way impossible. 

A delegation from the Beijing High People’s Court visited London in the summer to find out more about our courts and to experience two mock trials. David Altaras and Christopher Donnellan QC report.  

In late August/early September of this year, a delegation of twenty judges from the Beijing High People’s Court visited London. Their purpose was to discover how the English courts, both civil and criminal, deal with road traffic cases. Richard Wilson QC, having learned of their visit, organised fellow members of 36 Bedford Row to put on two mock trials, one a road traffic accident claim and the other a death by dangerous driving prosecution. There was an enthusiastic response, with members volunteering to write the scripts and to play the various roles of trial judge, counsel and witnesses. In all, twelve barristers gave up a day in court to act out the two trials. BPP University College generously gave us  use of a mock court room plus three other rooms, together with lunch and refreshments throughout the day. 

Colin Smith looks at the issues arising when using digital evidence in court

How often is it now that none of the evidence in a case is digital? That a case has no information from a computer, mobile phone, company server, laptop? Digital evidence is all around us, but why does it often evade the robust challenging it probably deserves?
Any information that has come from digital sources must be treated diligently if the evidence is to prove reliable and strong. This is well known to digital forensic examiners. Being one myself I became very used to being reminded of the principles of forensics early on, which has resulted in me religiously maintaining the forensic standard of my evidence. 

Job title : Barrister, 9-12 Bell Yard

9-12 Bell Yard is a leading criminal set, whose members also possess specialist knowledge in common law, administrative law, licensing and the regulatory sector. The set undertakes advocacy for City law firms, public prosecution authorities, major corporates, government departments and local authorities. Chambers is authorised to accept appropriate direct and international instructions